Mortgage foreclosures are legal actions taken to foreclose upon real estate, as opposed to personal property. These are covered by Minnesota Statutes Chapters 580, 581 and 582. Read about the Minnesota Foreclosure Recovery Update from the Greater Minnesota Housing Fund dated June 9, 2011.

The St. Louis County Sheriff's Office does not provide a list of sales. Mortgage Foreclosure sales are advertised in legal newspapers. The attorney for the mortgage foreclosure company must publish a Notice of Foreclosure Sale in a qualified newspaper as defined in Minnesota Statute 331A.01.

This is the most common type of foreclosure action. It is usually based upon some default in the terms of the mortgage.

The attorney hired to conduct the foreclosure will prepare the appropriate Notice of Mortgage Foreclosure Sale, arrange for service and publication of the notice and have the Sheriff’s Office conduct the sale.

Some attorneys utilize the Sheriff’s Office to serve the notices while others only notify the Sheriff’s Office of the sale. Since attorneys often do not involve the Sheriff’s Office, information may not be available until the date of sale.

Any questions regarding a sale or arrangements to reinstate a mortgage should be directed to the attorney preparing the sale. Their telephone number is usually published with the Notice of Sale.

These sales are conducted pursuant to a direct Order from a District Court Judge for the Sheriff to sell a specific parcel of real property.

The notices are prepared by the plaintiff’s attorney, similar to the Mortgage Foreclosure by Advertisement, or may be prepared by the Sheriff. However, the Sheriff or a Deputy will sign the Notice of Sale. Service of the Notice of Sale is usually done by the Sheriff’s Office by posting in the courthouse as well as publication in a legal newspaper as required by law.

In both types of Mortgage Foreclosure Sales, the sale is conducted by the Sheriff, or his designee, in an open bidding process. Sales are conducted weekdays at 10:00 A.M. in the Sheriff’s Main Civil Office, Room 103, 100 North Fifth Avenue West, Duluth, MN 55802. The Mortgage company’s or plaintiff’s attorney will open the bid with the exact amount due at the time of the sale.

Following this bid, other bidders are given an opportunity to bid. A successful bidder must have cash or certified funds (payable to the St. Louis County Sheriff) available to pay the Sheriff’s Office at the time of the sale.

The successful bidder will receive a Sheriff’s Certificate of Sale that lists the name of the purchaser and the amount of the purchase. The Certificate of Sale is prepared by the attorney and includes documentation proving that all statutory requirements have been completed.

All mortgage foreclosure sales are subject to a redemption period, usually 6 or 12 months. The length of the redemption period is noted in the sale notice.